BWW Looks Back on Classic Musical Episodes of THE SIMPSONS
By: Caryn Robbins Oct. 02, 2017
As BWW reported earlier today, in next week's episode of THE SIMPSONS titled 'Springfield Splendor,' Marge and Lisa are Broadway-bound. In the episode, the duo turn Lisa's sad experience into a successful graphic novel-turned-Broadway show, but they struggle with creative differences and ego. Written by Tim Long and Miranda Thompson, the episode will feature guest stars Martin Short as Guthrie Frenel, Roz Chast as Herself, FUN HOME writer Alison Bechdel as Herself, Marjane Satrapi as Herself, CRAZY-EX GIRLFRIEND's Rachel Bloom as Herself and Dan Harmon as Himself. 'Springfield Splendor' airs Sunday, Oct. 8, (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
As fans of THE SIMPSONS well know, this is not the first time the series has paid tribute to Broadway or the musical genre. We've assembled some of our favorite musically-themed clips from the show below!
The long-running series pays tribute to MY FAIR LADY in the twelfth episode of season 17 titled 'My Fair Laddy'. In the episode, Springfield Elementary School has a new gym teacher, Coach Krupt, who plays a game called Bombardment, which consists solely of Krupt knocking the students over with dodgeballs. When an errant solid-ice dodgeball which Bart made to get back at Krupt destroys Groundskeeper Willie's shack and leaves him homeless, THE SIMPSONS take Willie in. Lisa plans to make Willie over into a proper gentleman as a project for the school Science fair.
GLEE's Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Amber Riley lent their voices in a parody of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, in the first episode of Season 22 titled "Elementary School Musical." In the episode, Marge sends Lisa to a performing arts camp where artsy counselors (guest voices Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords) and fellow musically inclined campers (guest voices Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Amber Riley from Glee) inspire her to embrace her creative side. After she returns to Springfield, Lisa becomes RESTLESS with her boring suburban lifestyle and catches the first bus to Sprooklyn in hopes of reconnecting with her inner hipster. Meanwhile, Krusty gets tricked into the International Supreme Court for all the bad deeds he has done.
THE SIMPSONS presented their take on a Tennessee Williams classic in the second episode of Season 4 titled "A Streetcar Named Marge." In the episode, Marge gets a taste of the acting bug and decides to volunteer at the Springfield Community Center. She is cast as Blanche DuBois in a musical version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" directed by the flamboyant Llewellyn Sinclair. Meanwhile, Maggie squares off with her strict new daycare provider.
The creators shared a parody of the Liza Minnelli TV special "Liza with a 'Z'" in the seventh episode of Season 27 titled "Lisa with an 'S'". where the character of Lisa Simpson leaves home and heads for Broadway with a character based on the late, great Elaine Stritch. According to the episode description, "when Homer loses $5,000 at a poker game with Broadway legend Laney Fontaine, the only way he is able to settle the bet is if he loans Lisa to Laney for a month. Then, Laney turns Lisa into a show biz kid and Marge and Homer fear they made a mistake letting her go. So they head to New York to get her back. At New York City, THE SIMPSONS realize how happy Lisa is for [taking part in] a Broadway show, and they decide to go back to Springfield without her. That's when Laney sees that Lisa could easily overshadow her at the shows and so, they could never share the same stage again. This makes Lisa sad and suddenly, she wants to go back home with her family."
A parody of THE MUSIC MAN classic 'Trouble in River City' was presented in the twlfth episode of Season 4 titled "Marge vs. the Monorail." In the episode, after collecting a $3 million fine from Mr. Burns (for illegal disposal of nuclear waste), Springfield holds a town meeting to decide what to do with the money. Marge suggests they use it to fix Main Street, but a smooth-talking stranger named Lyle Lanley talks the townspeople into spending the money on a needless monorail...built from shoddy materials. However, his slick salesmanship doesn't win over both Lisa and Marge whom both suspect he is a con artist.
Which was your favorite musical episode of THE SIMPSONS? Tune in this Sunday for what's sure to be another classic!
Image courtesy of FOX
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